The Malaysian Insight

MUDA is in talks with Warisan to help the Sabah-based party spread its wings to Peninsular Malaysia, said Mutalib Uthman, co-founder of the party.

“We are in discussion with Warisan to help the party become a national party and spread its wings to Peninsular Malaysia.

“We don’t have a formal agreement yet, just initial discussions for us to find common ground to work together. There may be issues that we can discuss and fight for together,” he said.

Mutalib said the talks with Warisan only started last week with a follow up scheduled for later this week.

“We only started talking about working together this week, we haven’t even met in person, all the meetings were done via video call.

“The top guns in Warisan, the party’s vice president, its secretary general and the youth and women wing leaders were involved in the discussion,” he said.

Mutalib added both parties did not involve their party presidents in the initial discussions. Any potential agreement, he said, will be announced at a later date.

Mutalib said Muda was the one who approached Warisan on potentially working together, but they can’t do anything yet as they are still waiting for approval from the Registrar of Societies on the party’s registration.

Mutalib said at the moment they are only talking to Warisan and not to any other parties.

On Muda’s stand, Mutalib stressed that they are in the opposition, but not in the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

“We will not follow Perikatan Nasional,” Mutalib said.

“We support Syed Saddiq (Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman) to become the next prime minister, but this has not been discussed so far.”

Warisan president Shafie Apdal had said in December that the party’s delegates have endorsed its move to become a national party at its annual general meeting.

The move, Shafie said, will serve more than 300,000 Sabahans currently in the peninsular. Warisan is also open to take in members here who are interested in the party’s ideologies.

Shafie said Warisan’s move was “nothing unusual” adding that Parti Bersatu Sabah and Upko, which had extended their wings to Peninsular Malaysia, had even contested in some seats during elections in Perak and Penang previously.

He added that the party would focus their divisions or branches in Selangor and Johor among other areas where there was a concentration of Sabahans working or settled there. – March 25, 2021.